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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23280835">Ghost Town Saints</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllFuckedUpOnLove/pseuds/AllFuckedUpOnLove'>AllFuckedUpOnLove</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supernatural</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst with a Happy Ending, Castiel/Dean Winchester First Kiss, College, Cute, DCRB 2020, Dean/Cas Reverse Bang 2020 (Supernatural), First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, House Party, Love Confessions, M/M, Marijuana, Summer Vacation, Supportive Dean Winchester, Trans Castiel (Supernatural), beer pong</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 03:28:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,010</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23280835</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllFuckedUpOnLove/pseuds/AllFuckedUpOnLove</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>College is out for summer vacation, and that means Cas is back home with his family. Ever since he came out as trans, things have been tense, to say the least. After yet another argument with his parents, Cas needs to clear his head. Luckily, his best friend Dean is just a text away. Dean suggests the two of them escape reality for a bit and hit up a party being held at Ghost Town. As they drink and get high, they realize their feelings for each other run deeper than friendship.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Castiel/Dean Winchester, Dorothy Baum/Charlie Bradbury</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>103</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Dean/Cas Reverse Bang 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Ghost Town Saints</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my fic for the DCRB 2020, that I wrote in response to the amazing art created by impmakesart.<br/><br/>Here is the link to his art master post:<br/><a href="https://impmakesart.tumblr.com/post/613228731952250880/ghost-town-saints">https://impmakesart.tumblr.com/post/613228731952250880/ghost-town-saints</a></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nothing ruined his day quite like the name of a ghost. To be fair, he was still the same person, but the name was dead. His parents spoke it like a necromancer’s spell in hopes of reviving a memory of someone they thought they lost, but the bones still walked, the soul still talked. All that changed was the name. </p>
<p>So when Cas asked his parents if he could be put on testosterone, he wasn’t surprised when he was struck down by their wrath. They said they could tolerate the short hair, the button-up shirts, the binders, but this was too much. They didn’t understand why he had to push it. Couldn’t he be happy with the inch they had given him? Why did he have to ask for a mile? </p>
<p>It broke Cas’s heart. Even though he didn’t expect his parents to immediately hop on board, a small part of him still hoped they would be supportive. His parents always preached tolerance, acceptance, loving thy neighbor, but he guessed that wasn’t applicable to their children. They told him he needed to put God in his heart and get back on the righteous path, that this was nothing but the devil tempting him, and he knew better than to believe that, but logic and emotions don’t always mix. </p>
<p>When Cas turned 18, he took it upon himself to research the steps to start hormone replacement therapy on his own. He found a couple local psychiatrists and endocrinologists who would be willing to see him. It was a process, but luckily he had some college refund money saved up, and he was approved. </p>
<p>After Cas finished his Sophomore year of college, and had been on testosterone for one full year, he went home for summer vacation. It was bittersweet because he was excited to be done with school, but he wasn’t looking forward to being back home with his family. They liked to pretend that things hadn’t changed, and Cas tried to keep the peace, but constantly having to put on an act was taxing. He just wanted to be himself.</p>
<p>He tried to get a summer job, but that didn’t happen because the two places that called him back didn’t want to hire a new person for only a couple of months. He figured he could find something else to occupy his time. After all, almost anything would be better than his father yelling at him and his mother passive aggressively praying for him at the dinner table every night. </p>
<p>Instead of dwelling on that, Cas chose to focus on the positive. The upside to, and also the best part of, being home was getting to see Dean. They had become best friends their senior year of high school, both finding comfort and support in each other. Cas even opted to go to a state school just so he could still see Dean on the weekends. He had researched the programs, and it was equally as good of a school as the one hundreds of miles away that he wanted to go to, and it was a fraction of the price. It was a win/win. </p>
<p>His father didn’t see it that way. He didn’t understand why Cas would be willing to sacrifice his future for some boy, but Dean was so much more than that. He was charming, gifted, kindhearted, and one of the only people that accepted Cas as he was. Dean was a beaming light amidst endless darkness, the rope pulling Cas back to the top of the cliff he was dangling from. </p>
<p>His mother told him he could do better. </p>
<p>After high school, Dean took a job fixing cars at his uncle’s auto shop. He was damn good at it too. Cas knew if things had been different, if Dean had been dealt a better hand in life, that he would’ve gone on to college and became a huge success. But life wasn’t fair. </p>
<p>It made Cas feel guilty, because he didn’t really know what he wanted to do with his life, but he had been given all the financial opportunity that someone like Dean could only dream about. Dean always loved fixing things. Cars were the easiest to get his hands on, but he would tear apart all kinds of things and figure out how to put them back together. He’d take scraps and make new things out of them. He even took first place in one of the science fairs for his designs for a wind-powered car. It wouldn’t have worked on the grand scale, but it was still an interesting concept. The point was, Dean was brilliant, and Cas felt lucky to be his friend. </p>
<p>They joked about moving in together once Cas graduated college, but that all seemed like a pipe dream. Then again, Dean said he had been saving up, so there was still hope for that. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>~*****~</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After only a couple days back from college, Cas and his parents got into a heated argument. In desperate need of a distraction, Cas texted Dean. As soon as Dean read Cas’s text, he suggested going to a party that one of his friends was throwing. It wasn’t Cas’s usual scene, but he figured it would be a good opportunity to get his mind off things. He texted back saying he was game.</p>
<p>About an hour later, when Cas’s parents were asleep and the house was quiet, he crept downstairs to the kitchen and snuck out the back door. He met up with Dean at the park and they headed out. </p>
<p>The party was being held in an abandoned housing complex on the outskirts of the city. Locals referred to it as Ghost Town. Most of the houses had been gutted of anything valuable, so they really didn’t serve much purpose other than being glorified club houses for wayward youth and shelter for the homeless. The cops had all but given up on patrolling it. During the town’s heyday the houses were given to military families, but once the jobs were shipped elsewhere, they were forgotten.</p>
<p>One night, after driving up to Rutherford’s Look Out, Cas and Dean talked about how glad they were that the military base shut down before they turned 18. Cas figured his parents would’ve pushed for him to see what openings they had, in hopes that it would teach him discipline and all that. Dean said his father mentioned the reserves a couple times. Even brought him to speak with a recruiter. John wanted nothing more than for him to become a legacy in the marines, but that was the furthest thing from how Dean envisioned his future. They passed a bottle of cheap vodka back and forth, drinking until the glowing orange in the distance blurred into the night sky. </p>
<p>They pushed those memories of “what if” to the back-burner as they approached the house, choosing instead to focus on having a good time. </p>
<p>They opened the door and were greeted by a cloud of smoke. It seemed fitting. There were some old speakers set up in the corner that were no doubt playing someone’s Spotify playlist. That was confirmed when a 30 second ad played at full volume.</p>
<p>Dean scooped them up two cups of something that was being served in an over-sized sand pail. Dean said it was called Jungle Juice, but that didn’t make it any less sketchy. It tasted like fruit punch, and Dean said that was the point. It got you drunk fast because you couldn’t taste the alcohol, even though there were several bottles mixed in. </p>
<p>As Cas took a sip, the lemon-lime, corn-syrup-laced flavor saturating his taste buds, a girl with red hair ran up behind Dean and put her hands over his eyes.</p>
<p>“Guess who?” She asked, standing on her tiptoes to keep her hands in place.</p>
<p>“Hey, Charlie.” Dean reached up, pulling her hands down.  </p>
<p>“You feeling up to getting your ass kicked in a game of beer pong?”</p>
<p>Dean raised an eyebrow, not even answering before grabbing Cas’s hand and heading over to the table. That was one of the things Cas loved about Dean, he was super competitive.</p>
<p>“You and me versus Charlie and Dorothy. We can totally take them, what do you say?”</p>
<p>Cas was hesitant, never having played the game before. He had seen others play, but theory was different than practice. Then Cas saw the excited glint in Dean’s eyes and decided to go for it. Worse case scenario- he got drunk with his best friend.</p>
<p>They took turns shooting the slightly dented ping-pong ball at the cups. Admittedly, Dean was a lot better than Cas, but they were having a good time. Charlie sunk her first shot and Cas reached for the cup on the table. Dean’s eyes went wide as Cas lifted the cup to his lips. Just in the nick of time, Dean smacked the cup from Cas’s hand. The red plastic hit the ground, sending the fluid splashing over the dusty concrete floor. The ping pong ball bounced pitifully at their feet.</p>
<p>“Do you want to die?” Dean asked.</p>
<p>“What the fuck? I was just playing the game. She made the shot, so I had to drink.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, from your own cup,” Dorothy added. “House rules, dude. We fill the ones on the table with water from the creek out back and just drink our own drinks.”</p>
<p>Cas picked up one of the cups from the table and peered inside. Sure enough, the water was slightly brown and cloudy. Cas had figured it was another weird house-mixed drink. He scrunched his nose up and set the cup back on the table as Charlie and Dorothy laughed. </p>
<p>They resumed the game, everyone taking sips from their own cup when needed. The game went back and forth until it was down to two cups each. It was anyone’s game.</p>
<p>Dean was super focused, well, as focused as a tipsy man could be. Before each shot, he would take a deep breath, steady his hand, and carefully aim. It was usually followed by a frustrated grunt when he missed.</p>
<p>Cas wasn’t doing much better, whatever was in his cup hit him pretty hard and it took most of his energy not to pop the ping pong ball in his mouth and project it across the table.</p>
<p>“Dude, are you wasted off of one drink?” Dorothy asked as she took and missed her shot.</p>
<p>“I don’t get out much,” Cas deadpanned.</p>
<p>Charlie ended up shooting the winning shot, throwing her hands in the air and proclaiming victory.</p>
<p>Dean was quick to point out that they still had a chance at rebuttal, but unfortunately, they missed those shots too, so Charlie and Dorothy won.</p>
<p>“Get wrecked, losers!” Charlie shouted, with her finger and her thumb in the shape of an “L” on her forehead. She high fived Dorothy and gave her a quick celebratory kiss as Dean mumbled obscenities under his breath.</p>
<p>Cas offered his condolences, but Dean was pouting. He didn’t like to lose. </p>
<p>In an attempt to cheer him up, Cas told a joke about bees. Dean was the only one who laughed. Normally Cas would feel self-conscious and try to change the subject or run away, but all he could focus on was how Dean’s eyes squinted as his cheeks rose into a smile, and how his body leaned in as he let out an honest-to-God laugh. Cas’s vision was blurred, making the string of lights on the wall flare around Dean’s head in an ethereal display of colors.</p>
<p>Dean turned his head, drawing Cas’s focus back to those beautiful green eyes. Those eyes, that were usually so tired, now aglow with joy. To Cas, that was magic. At that moment, it didn’t matter what anyone else in the room thought because he was able to make Dean smile.</p>
<p>Next thing he knew, Dean’s arm was slung over his shoulder.</p>
<p>“That was a good one, Cas.” Dean looked at Cas like the two of them were on their own wavelength, the cool kids who were in on a secret that nobody else knew about. Then again, Dean was always like that.</p>
<p>He asked Cas all types of questions, and genuinely wanted to know the answers. He helped him paint his room yellow because he knew it was Cas’s favorite color and he hoped it would make his home life a little easier. He made him chicken noodle soup when he got sick and brought him ginger ale when his tummy ached. He made sure Cas knew he was important, not only to him, but to the world. Dean made Cas feel like things might just turn out alright after all, and for that, he was grateful.</p>
<p>“So, ‘Screw Heaven,’ huh?” Cas gestured to the graffiti on the back wall. There had been a couple different phrases and pictures spray painted on the walls, but that one caught Cas’s eye.</p>
<p>“Sorry. I know your family is super religious and all that-“</p>
<p>“No, it’s fine.” Cas walked over, his back to Dean as he looked at the message. “From what my family says, heaven doesn’t want me anyway, so yeah,” Cas lifted his drink to toast in agreement, “screw heaven!”</p>
<p>Cas downed the rest of his drink, wiping the dribble on the back of his hand. When he turned around, he saw Dean being pulled into the arms of a lanky young man, who appeared to be smelling him as they embraced.</p>
<p>“You smell good,” he said, confirming Cas’s suspicions.</p>
<p>“Uh, thanks.” Dean pulled away so he could introduce his friends. “Garth, this is Cas. Cas, this is Garth.”</p>
<p>Cas should’ve seen it coming, but he was naive and was surprised to find himself suddenly wrapped in Garth’s arms.</p>
<p>Dean smirked, “Yeah, Garth is a hugger.”</p>
<p>“What can I say? I’m a “spread the love” kind of guy. Speaking of which…” Garth grabbed a glass bowl from the table behind him. “Y’all want in on this?”</p>
<p>Cas looked apprehensively at the offering. He knew it was weed. It wasn’t that he had anything against it, but he had never smoked before. He wasn’t exactly the “let’s get stoned” type. Hell, with the exception of tonight, he had only been drunk two previous times.</p>
<p>“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Dean said, making sure Cas didn’t feel pressured.</p>
<p>“No, I want to,” Cas said, taking the bowl and lighter from Garth. Dean must’ve sensed Cas’s apprehension, because he quickly grabbed Cas’s hands and showed him the proper way to smoke it.</p>
<p>“Now, when you inhale, you’re going to want to hold it in your lungs for a second, then let it out.”</p>
<p>Cas nodded, sparking the lighter and setting the already scorched leaves ablaze. He brought the bowl to his mouth and inhaled, the smoke burning his lungs. He tried to hold it, as Dean instructed, but he started coughing instead.</p>
<p>Dean and Garth were laughing, and for a second Cas thought they were making fun of him, but after a quick pat on the back, and some encouragement that “that’ll happen if you’re not used to it,” he realized everyone was just having a good time and making light of the situation.</p>
<p>Cas gave the bowl to Dean, who took a hit and handed it back to Garth. Garth inhaled slowly then took the opportunity to blow a huge smoke ring into the air. It floated over Cas’s head for a moment before dispersing into the darkness.</p>
<p>Garth went to hand the bowl back to Cas, pausing as a crash came from the other room.</p>
<p>“Shit.” Garth sighed defeatedly, hanging his head. “I’m going to make sure no one’s hurt. I’ll leave this with you two. I know she’ll be in good hands.” Garth handed the bowl to Dean, and went to check on the commotion. </p>
<p>Dean sunk to the ground, sitting cross-legged in front of the graffiti-covered wall. “Come sit next to me, I have an idea.”</p>
<p>Cas joined him on the ground, too drunk to care that the ground was sticky and covered in spilled alcohol. </p>
<p>“Do you know what shot-gunning is?” Dean asked.</p>
<p>Cas shook his head.</p>
<p>“Okay, so I’m gonna take a hit, then when I exhale, you inhale the smoke.”</p>
<p>Cas nodded, but he didn’t really understand. The way he pictured it, he’d be sucking up smoke haphazardly from the air like a possessed vacuum cleaner hose. He didn’t see why that was something people would do.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, Dean lifted the bowl to his lips and pulled the smoke into his lungs. He leaned in close to Cas, and if Cas didn’t know better, he would’ve thought they were about to kiss. Dean reached up, and with one finger, pushed Cas’s chin down so he would open his mouth.</p>
<p>Their lips were impossibly close when Dean let the gentle stream of smoke flow from his mouth to Cas’s. It was a lot easier than smoking it straight. It didn’t burn as much. Cas closed his eyes and let the high wash over him as he held his breath. He felt calm, a moment of peace away from the chaos of the outside world. He exhaled and opened his eyes, finding Dean’s a few inches from his face.</p>
<p>It must’ve been the combination of weed and alcohol, and that’s what Cas told himself, because he couldn’t stop staring at Dean. They had been friends for so long, and he never really let himself dwell on how beautiful he was for fear that it would make things weird. But now...</p>
<p>“What?” Dean asked, eyebrow cocked, a hint of a nervous smile creeping to the corner of his lips.</p>
<p>It wasn’t like Cas could tell him that his eyes were mesmerizing, even in the low light of the room, or that his freckles were scattered like constellations across his cheeks, or that his lips looked so very, very kissable. So he lied.</p>
<p>“Can we do that again?”</p>
<p>Dean chuckled and nodded, “Hell yeah.”</p>
<p>This time the butterflies flew in Cas’s stomach as Dean leaned in, the warmth of his breath and the smoke- a gentle caress as he inhaled. He closed his eyes again, thoughts racing with ideas he wished could be tangible. </p>
<p>This time when he opened his eyes, it was almost overwhelming. Cas was forced to face the truth because it was sitting right across from him. He was scared. This was a moment he had fantasized about many times before, but just briefly enough that it became a thought, then he’d bury it along with all the other nice things he’d never be able to have. But not tonight.</p>
<p>Tonight, those thoughts came flooding to the surface. Right in front of him was all his wildest dreams, waiting for him to make a move. </p>
<p>He decided it didn’t matter what the consequences would be, because this felt right, this felt good, and damn it, he deserved good things just as much as everyone else. He knew how he felt, and the urge to act on those feelings was just too strong, so he took advantage of his lowered inhibitions, leaned in, and kissed Dean.</p>
<p>For a moment, the world was on its head, for a moment, nothing mattered except their lips touching, for a moment, Cas swore Dean was kissing him back, but then the moment shattered.</p>
<p>Cas pulled away, a look of pure panic on his face. Dean was his friend. How could he have crossed a line like this? He was sure he messed everything up.</p>
<p>“Dean, I’m so sorry. I never should’ve done that. That was stupid. I’m so, so sorry. Please don’t be mad.”</p>
<p>“Calm down. I’m not mad, and you have nothing to be sorry about.”</p>
<p>“But I kissed you?” Cas furrowed his brow, unsure of where this was headed.</p>
<p>“And?” Dean didn’t appear to be mad. In fact, he looked like he might laugh. “I kissed you back.”</p>
<p>The look of confusion on Cas’s face deepened. </p>
<p>“Come on, you have to have known I’ve had a crush on you for like… our entire friendship.”</p>
<p>“No.” Cas was sure his eyes were ridiculously wide. On what planet would he assume that? Dean didn’t talk much about his sexuality, but Cas never would’ve figured he’d be his type. Not that he was complaining.</p>
<p>“Well, Cas … I like you. A lot. And if it’s alright with you, I’d really like to kiss you again.”</p>
<p>All Cas could do was nod, and Dean’s lips were back on his. It was a little awkward, but it was wonderful. Dean cupped his cheek with one hand, the other snaking around the back of his head to pull him closer. Cas could feel him smiling against his lips. There was no doubt in his mind that Dean liked him.</p>
<p>Cas had kissed a handful of people before this, but they had nothing on Dean. Dean kissed him like he was something precious, something valuable, something to be loved, and he had never felt like that before. </p>
<p>As they broke apart, Cas felt like he was flying. “That was amazing.” </p>
<p>“Yeah it was.” Dean leaned against the wall, a huge smile plastered on his face. He rested his head against the concrete and pulled Cas against his chest. They stayed like that, listening to the music and enjoying the closeness. </p>
<p>“You know what, Cas,” Dean began, taking a swig from a nearby bottle of beer, needing to wash down his nerves, “if your family can’t see how amazing you are, then that’s their loss. You are funny, and caring, and so fucking cute. And honestly…” Dean paused.</p>
<p>“What?” Cas tilted his head up to look at Dean. He couldn’t tell what he was thinking. The silence felt like it lasted forever, but it was probably only a few seconds.</p>
<p>Dean smiled and looked down, meeting Cas’s eyes. “Do you want to be my boyfriend?” </p>
<p>The question hung in the air. Cas was stunned, unsure if he heard the question correctly. It seemed like something out of a dream, but as he looked up at Dean’s adorable face, it clicked. He wanted to be the one to help paint Dean’s room his favorite color, he wanted to bring him soup when he was sick, and he wanted to make sure he knew he was important, not only to him, but to the world. He knew the answer would be easy.</p>
<p>“I’d love to.” </p>
<p>Dean placed a kiss on Cas's forehead and pulled him in close. “Awesome.”</p>
<p>Cas’s head was still hazy as he rested it upon Dean’s chest. The gentle rise and fall a reminder that, yes, this was real. A beautiful boy asked him to be his boyfriend, and he meant it. It wasn’t a joke, it wasn’t malicious. Dean fell for the person Cas was inside, and he liked him exactly as he was. He never tried to change him. He was always there, ready to share a new adventure. </p>
<p>“Thank you,” Cas said, placing his hand on Dean’s knee, gently running his thumb back and forth over the worn denim.</p>
<p>“For what?” Dean lifted his hand to stroke the hair on the back of Cas’s head. It was gentle. A kind of touch that Cas hadn’t known well, but seemingly felt at home within. This was autumn-breeze-easy, an alignment of stars, years in the making, that led them to this abandoned house. It felt a bit like two lifetimes falling into forever. </p>
<p>Cas let out a sigh of contentment, “For making me feel seen.”</p>
<p>As the party dwindled down, they stayed in their corner, wrapped up in each other. The music played, and the rest of the world faded away. For one night, they got to be happy. For one night, they got to be themselves. Even if the next day it all came crashing down, it wouldn’t matter, because they had each other. It wasn’t what most people would hope for, but it was as close to perfect as either of them had ever known. </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
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